Duke Energy

Duke Energy is a major electricity generating company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Duke Energy owns and operates 36,000 MW of base-load and peak generation that it distributes to its 4 million customers. Duke Energy's service territory covers 47,000 square miles with 106,000 miles of distribution lines. Almost all of Duke Energy's Midwest generation comes from coal, natural gas or oil, while half of its Carolinas generation comes from its nuclear power plants. During 2006, Duke Energy generated 148,798,332 MWh of electrical energy.

Duke Energy Generation Services (DEGS), a subsidiary of Duke Energy, specializes in the development, ownership and operation of various generation facilities throughout the United States. This segment of the company operates 6,600 MW of generation. 240 MW of wind generation are under construction and 1,500 additional MW of wind generation are in planning stages.

History
The company began in 1900 as the Catawba Power Company, when Dr. Walker Gill Wylie and his brother financed the building of a hydroelectric power station at India Hook Shoals along the Catawba River. In need of additional funding to further his ambitious plan for construction of a series of hydroelectric power plants, Wylie convinced James B. Duke to invest in the Southern Power Company, founded in 1905, which later became known as Duke Power. In 1988, Nantahala Power & Light Co., which served southwestern North Carolina, was purchased by Duke and is now operated under the Duke Power - Nantahala Area brand. Duke Power merged with PanEnergy in 1997 to form Duke Energy. The Duke Power name continued as the electric utility business of Duke Energy until the Cinergy merger (Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company with Kentucky subsidiary Union Light, Heat & Power and Plainfield, Indiana-based PSI Energy).

With the purchase of the Cinergy Corporation, announced in 2005 and completed on April 3, 2006, Duke Energy Corporation's customer base now includes the midwestern U.S. as well. The company operates nuclear power plants, coal-fired plants, conventional hydroelectric plants, natural-gas turbines to handle peak demand, and pumped hydro storage. During 2006, Duke Energy also acquired Chatham, Ontario-based Union Gas, which is regulated under the Ontario Energy Board Act (1998).

On January 3, 2007, Duke Energy spun off its gas business to form Spectra Energy. Duke Energy shareholders received 1 share of Spectra Energy for each 2 shares of Duke Energy. After the spin-off, Duke Energy now receives the majority of its revenue from its electric operations in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. The spinoff to Spectra also included Union Gas, which Duke Energy acquired the previous year.

Duke buys Progress Energy
On January 9, 2011, Duke Energy said it agreed to buy Progress Energy for $13.7 billion in stock, creating the largest U.S. power company if it wins approval from regulators in North and South Carolina. The transaction would create an industry giant with approximately 7.1 million electricity customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, and 57,000 megawatts of generating capacity. State regulators have sought concessions from large power companies planning to merge, such as rate reductions.

If the deal is approved by regulators, the combined companies would form the single largest utility in the United States.

Congressional Campaign Contributions
Duke Energy is one of the largest contributors to both Republican and Democratic candidates for Congress. These contributions total $392,600 to the 110th US Congress (as of the third quarter), the largest of which has been to Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) for $28,000. Senator Voinovich, for his part, has consistently voted with the coal industry on energy bills.

Contributions like this from from fossil fuel companies to members of Congress are often seen as a political barrier to pursuing clean energy.

More information on coal industry contributions to Congress can be found at FollowtheCoalMoney.org, a project sponsored by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Oil Change International and Appalachian Voices.

Duke Indiana hires state regulators
In September 2010, Duke Energy Indiana hired as assistant general counsel Scott Storms, the General Counsel and Chief Administrative Law Judge at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC), raising questions about the revolving door relationship between regulators and utilities. Storms served as General Counsel to the state Commission that regulates Duke and other Indiana utilities, and was the presiding Judge over most hearings regarding the controversial Edwardsport Plant, a $2.35 billion Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle coal plant currently under construction, which is projected to raise customer rates an average 19 percent rate by 2013. Storms signed many of the IURC’s decisions related to Edwardsport – the last as recent as July 23, 2010. Citizens Action Coalition noted that this violates the Indiana Ethics Commission's direction for State employees, which states on its website: “[If] you work for the Utility Regulatory Commission making regulatory decisions concerning a public utility company, you may not work for this utility company for a year.”

Grant Smith, Executive Director of Citizens Action Coalition, stated: “It’s disturbing that a required, one-year cooling off period so easily became less than 60 days. When you add Mr. Storms hiring with Duke’s recent hiring of former IURC Executive Director Michael W. Reed as the new President of Duke Energy Indiana it raises ethics questions. We are also concerned about the timing of Mr. Storm’s announcement as it relates to a recent settlement agreed upon by Duke Energy Indiana and the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor pertaining to the troubled Edwardsport IGCC power plant.” The current Chairman of the IURC, David Lott Hardy, also worked for one of Duke’s predecessor companies, PSI Energy, several years ago.

IURC Chair Hardy dismissed and Duke CEO Reed put on leave
In October 2010, Duke placed Mike Reed, president and CEO of its Indiana operations, on administrative leave in the wake of a state investigation into the company that resulted in the dismissal of the chairman of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) David Lott Hardy. Early that month, Gov. Mitch Daniels fired IURC chief Hardy for allowing IURC agency official Scott Storms to continue presiding over the Edwardsport Duke Energy case even after talking with Duke about a job opportunity.

The firing of Hardy follows the recent departure to Duke’s Plainfield office of Scott Storms, who had been administrative law judge for the IURC. Storms was presiding over a handful of cases involving Duke, including matters involving cost overruns at Duke’s Edwardsport generating plant. Duke said it was also putting Storms on administrative leave from his position in Duke’s legal-regulatory department, “pending the completion of a full evaluation.”

Daniels has directed that administrative opinions over which Storms presided will be reopened and reviewed “to ensure no undue influence was exerted in the decisions.” Daniels also directed that a one-year cooling off period for decision makers is to be considered for those at the administrative law judge level. The administration said it has referred the matter to the inspector general to determine if any laws were broken or whether misinformation was presented to the Ethics Commission.

E-mails raise ethics questions over Duke executives and Indiana regulators
In late November 2010 it was discovered that James L. Turner, the second-highest-paid executive at Duke Energy Corp., kept in regular touch with Indiana regulators. In dozens of e-mails, obtained by The Indianapolis Star under an open records request, the Turner and David Lott Hardy, then chairman of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, discussed many personal topics, sometimes trading messages eight or 10 times a day. Turner and Hardy also frequently discussed Storms and Reed, as those two went through job interviews and were hired away from the IURC by Duke earlier that year. Hardy wanted constant reports on the hiring process: "How real is the interest in Mike (Reed)? I think it's a marriage made in heaven. Is this decision yours and I don't need to sell Jim [Rogers, CEO of Duke], or is his buy-in pivotal?" The Indianapolis Star wrote that the emails "show that the friendly relationship between Duke and Indiana regulators, which resulted in the firing of Duke's Indiana president, Mike Reed, in an ethics scandal earlier this month, extended all the way to Duke's headquarters in North Carolina" and that "the e-mails raise questions about whether Turner had special access to Hardy that was unavailable to utility customers, grass-roots groups and everyday citizens in matters of rate increases and electricity regulation."

On December 6, 2010, James Turner resigned. Turner will leave the company with a farewell package worth more than $12 million, which includes his pension, bonuses and deferred compensation worth more than $8.5 million. In return, Turner has agreed not to work for a competitor for two years and not to solicit business from Duke customers or entice other Duke employees to leave.

January 2011: Former Duke CEO to be questioned by community groups
On Dec. 21, 2010, The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission signed an order that compels former Duke executive James Turner to appear at a deposition in Indianapolis for questioning by the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, the Sierra Club, Save the Valley and Valley Watch. The groups will get to question James Turner in early 2011 about his role in the company's decision to hire away several state employees in possible violation of Indiana ethics laws, as well as about the company's $2.9 billion coal-gasification plant in Edwardsport, which they call a boondoggle. The groups want to use the information to help build a case that Duke Energy used undue influence in getting the state to approve the Edwardsport plant and its cost overruns, much of which will be passed along to consumers. The groups want to halt construction at the plant, which is more than halfway completed, and have Duke foot much of the bill on the grounds that the company has concealed information and mismanaged the project. In mid-December, Duke agreed to reopen negotiations on the plant's latest round of cost overruns, worth about $500 million.

CEO compensation
In May 2007, Forbes listed Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers as receiving $10.2 million in total compensation for the latest fiscal year. He ranked 10th on the list of CEOs in the Utilities industry, and 174th out of all CEOs in the United States.

Switching sides on global warming
The company, previously called Duke Power, was a member of the Global Climate Coalition, a now-defunct industry group that fought plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

In January 2007, Duke Energy was one of 10 major companies to form the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, an industry group that called on U.S. President Bush to "to fight global warming by limiting greenhouse gases, funding research into renewable energy and creating a market for carbon dioxide emissions." 

Duke's role in the group was widely seen as visionary and/or selfless despite the fact that it proposed to construct two new coal-fired power plants in its service territory (Cliffside and Edwardsport). "About half of Duke's electricity comes from coal-fired power plants, which release more carbon dioxide than those burning natural gas," noted the San Francisco Chronicle. Duke also remains a member in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - a group that vehemently opposes climate legislation.

CEO Jim Rogers suggests Duke moving away from coal
In May 2009, Jim Rogers told reporters that that Duke was likely building its last two coal plants, until and unless carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology becomes commercially available. Rogers said he would instead focus on nuclear power generation. He said nuclear power presents less of a waste disposal problem than coal plants, because a smaller area is required for waste storage, and because CCS will require a system to transport CO2 gas long distances.

One of key trends being considered in a joint Duke - Rocky Mountains Institute project on the company's business scenarios is "whether key technological developments, such as carbon capture and sequestration, develop or not".

Duke Energy and Alstom Power leave ACCCE over climate change legislation
In September 2009, both Duke Energy and Alstom Power, a French company that makes parts for power plants, announced they were resigning from the industry group American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. Both companies cited concerns about alliance's opposition of the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill, which is attempting to cap greenhouse gas emissions. Tim Brown, a spokesman for Alstom, said the company wanted to remove any doubt about its full support for the legislation.

Workforce cuts
Almost 900 Duke employees took buyout offer made by the company in early 2010, reducing Duke's workforce by almost five percent. The offer was made to Duke's 8,700 non-union workers, who represent about forty-seven percent of the company's 18,700 person workforce. The cuts have come from workers in the five states that Duke has operations.

In 2006, Duke cut 1,500 jobs after a merger with Cinergy Corporation. Utility companies Dominion Resources and Duke Energy made similar cuts in 2010.

Power portfolio
Out of its total 43,761 MW of electric generating capacity in 2005 (4.10% of the U.S. total), Duke produces 42.5% from coal, 32.4% from natural gas, 17.2% from nuclear, 6.5% from hydroelectricity, and 1.3% from oil. Duke owns power plants in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

Decreasing power demand
In November 2008, Duke announced plans to roll back on new power generation because of a decline in demand. The company will delay the construction of two gas-fired power plants in North Carolina and postpone the approval process for the a nuclear plant in South Carolina. The changes were announced along with a 65% decline in third quarter earnings and are expected to reduce capital costs by $200 million this year. The cost-cutting moves did not include any changes to Duke's heavily-opposed coal plant proposals.

In September 2010, Duke proposed closing seven coal-powered units due to new EPA regulations. But the utility continued to plan for a new nuclear plant, its first since the mid-1980s, to open in Gaffney, S.C., in about 2020. Duke is also building two gas-fired power plants, to open at Buck in late 2011 and at Dan River in late 2012.

Existing coal-fired power plants
Duke had 70 coal-fired generating stations in 2005, with 18,591 MW of capacity. Here is a list of Duke's coal power plants with capacity over 100 MW:

In 2006, Duke's 17 major coal-fired power plants emitted 103.8 million tons of CO2 (1.7% of all U.S. CO2 emissions) and 811,000 tons of SO2 (5.4% of all U.S. SO2 emissions).

In 2006, Duke's Gallagher plant emitted more tons of SO2 per MWh than any other major power plant in the country; Wabash River ranked 6th in tons of SO2 per MWh, and Cayuga ranked 8th.

Duke Energy's Gallagher Generating Station and Environmental Justice
Duke Energy's Gallagher Generating Station is located in the town of New Albany, across the river from Louisville, Kentucky. The majority of the African American population living within a 3 mile radius of the power plant are in an income bracket which is substantially lower than the rest of the community, raising issues around environmental justice and coal. Gallagher is among over 100 coal plants near residential areas.

Riverbend, Buck Steam, Lee Steam, Cliffside and Dan River
In September 2010, Duke Energy said it might close seven coal-fired units at its Carolinas power plants within five years as environmental regulations intensify. It may retire by 2015 all coal-fired units for which it's not economical to install sulfur dioxide controls called scrubbers. That would increase by 890 megawatts the coal plants Duke had planned to retire in 2009. The retired units would be at Duke's Riverbend Steam Station in Gaston County, Buck Steam Station in Rowan County, and Lee Steam Plant in Anderson County, S.C. Duke said it might convert Lee from coal to natural gas fuel.

Duke has already agreed to retire 800 megawatts of older coal units as part of an N.C. permit to build a new 825-megawatt unit under construction at the Cliffside Plant in Rutherford County. That will shutter four old units at Cliffside, two at Buck, three at Dan River Steam Station, and two at Riverbend.

Duke's projections show the amount of its electricity generated with coal falling from 42 percent in 2011 to 29 percent in 2030. The share from nuclear power, in contrast, stays steady at 51 percent. The utility continues to plan for a new nuclear plant, its first since the mid-1980s, to open in Gaffney, S.C., in about 2020. Duke is also building two gas-fired power plants, to open at Buck in late 2011 and at Dan River in late 2012.

Gallagher station
Under a plan submitted to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on May 24, 2011, Duke Energy said it plans to shut down two coal-burning units at its Gallagher Generating Station and purchase a share of the Cayuga Generating Station in Indiana to make up the difference. The plan is being considered as a potential settlement option in a more than a decade-old lawsuit the company has with the EPA. Duke had been exploring the idea of converting two of the Gallagher burners to natural gas via running a gas pipeline from Kentucky. But the gas pipeline would cost $71 million, while Duke would pay $68 million for its share of the Vermillion Plant, owned by both Duke Ohio — an unregulated subsidiary of Duke Energy — and Wabash Valley Power Association. Duke Energy would own 62.5 percent of that plant and Wabash would own the remainder.

The lawsuit that initiated the filing relates to air quality: the EPA alleges Cinergy — which merged with Duke Energy in 2006 — undertook six power-plant upgrades that added new coal burners in Indiana and Ohio without obtaining new permits as required by New Source Review provisions. Both the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will have to approve either option before Duke moves ahead.

Coal Projects Sponsored by Duke Energy

 * Cliffside Plant
 * Edwardsport Plant

Duke files plans for carbon sequestration study in Indiana
In July 2009, Duke filed a proposal for a carbon dioxide storage project with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. Duke would invest over $120 million to store a portion of the CO2 emissions from its proposed Edwardsport Plant in Knox County, Indiana. The three-year project would attempt to store emissions in saline aquifers and in depleted oil and gas fields.

The experiment would result in an average 1 percent rate increase for customers between 2010 and 2013. The company is also applying for a federal grant to cover about half of the project's costs. If the project is successful, Duke will apply to capture and store the emissions on a permanent basis.

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Duke Energy coal plants
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants. Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Duke coal plants
Source: "Health Impacts - annual - of Existing Plants," Clean Air Task Force Excel worksheet, available under "Data Annex" at "Death and Disease from Power Plants," Clean Air Task Force. Note: This data includes the following plants owned by Duke Energy and subsidiaries Cincinnati Gas & Electric and PSI Energy: Beckjord, Miami Fort, East Bend, W.H. Zimmer, G.G. Allen; Buck, Cliffside, Dan River, Riverbend, W.S. Lee, Marshall, Belews Creek, Gibson, Wabash River, Cayuga, and Gallagher.

Nov. 15, 2007: Student blockade of Duke Energy headquarters
On November 15, 2007, two Warren Wilson College students - dressed as polar bears - chained themselves to the door of Duke Energy's headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, in protest of Duke's plans to build the Cliffside coal-fired power plant in western North Carolina. Several dozen people held a rally in support of their blockade, dressing as Santa Claus and elves and presenting a stocking full of coal to the company. The two students were arrested on charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct.

April 1, 2008: Rising Tide/Earth First! occupation of Cliffside construction site
On April 1, 2008, as part of the Fossil Fools International Day of Action, a group of North Carolina activists with Rising Tide and Earth First! locked themselves to bulldozers to prevent the construction of the Cliffside coal-fired power plant proposed by Duke in western North Carolina. Others roped off the site with "Global Warming Crime Scene" tape, and held banners protesting the construction of the plant. Police used pain compliance holds and tasers to force the activists to unlock themselves from the construction equipment. Eight people were arrested.

April 20, 2009: Hundreds protest in Charlotte, N.C. against Duke's proposed Cliffside plant
Hundreds of people marched and rallied against Cliffside in Charlotte, N.C. The demonstration was organized by more than a dozen environmental, faith-based, and social justice groups, which are calling on Duke and the state of North Carolina to cancel construction of the Cliffside plant. The plant, if built, would release 6 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, and would use coal extracted through mountaintop removal. 44 activists were arrested.

To see video of this protest, see Stop Cliffside

May 7, 2009: Activists protest Cliffside Plant at Duke Energy shareholder meeting in Charlotte, NC
Activists dominated Duke Energy's annual shareholder meeting in Charlotte, NC. About 25 protesters gathered outside the company's headquarters, calling for Duke to cancel its proposed Cliffside Plant. Inside the meeting, activists who own shares of the company grilled CEO Jim Rogers about the company's coal and nuclear investments.

November 30, 2009: Activists block delivery of generator to Cliffside coal plant in Greenville, SC
Two protesters locked themselves to a 1.5 million pound generator being delivered to the Cliffside Plant in North Carolina. The activists vowed to prevent the generator from reaching the plant. Protesters also displayed a large banner reading "Stop Cliffside" from the top of the generator. More than 20 activists attended the protest; four were arrested. The action was organized by Asheville Rising Tide and Croatan Earth First! as part of a national day of action with dozens of protests planned around the U.S.

May 5, 2011: Duke Energy shareholder meeting faces protests in Charlotte, NC
About 50 demonstrators from N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network protested Duke Energy continued use of mountaintop removal coal at the company's shareholders meeting. The protests included street theater of a state "legislator" taking money from utility customers in chains. Another group of conservative protesters waved "Fire Jim Rogers" signs in opposition to the Duke CEO's attempt to bring the Democratic National Convention to Charlotte in 2012. Rogers later said that Duke had also tried to bring Republican conventions to the city.

EPA releases list of 44 "high hazard" coal ash dumps
In response to demands from environmentalists as well as Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California), chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, the EPA made public a list of 44 "high hazard potential" coal waste dumps. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not include an assessment of the likelihood of such an event. Duke owns 10 of the sites, all of which are located in North Carolina.

The following table is derived from EPA's official list of Coal Combustion Residue (CCR) Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings. To see the full list of sites, see Coal waste.

Study shows Duke's N.C. coal ash ponds are contaminating groundwater
In October 2009, Appalachian Voices released an analysis of monitoring data from coal waste ponds at 13 coal plants in North Carolina. The study revealed that all of them are contaminating ground water with toxic pollutants, in some cases with over 350 times the allowable levels according to state standards. The contaminants include the toxic metals arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead, which can cause cancer and neurological disorders. The study was based on data submitted by Duke and Progress Energy to state regulators. The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources is attempting to confirm the results before determining whether current state law can mandate corrective action.

"High Hazard" Surface Impoundments at Duke Dan River waste sites
Two of Duke's Dan River Steam Station's coal ash surface impoundments - Dan River Steam Station Primary Pond and Dan River Steam Station Secondary Pond - are on the EPA's official June 2009 list of Coal Combustion Residue (CCR) Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not assess of the likelihood of such an event.

Coal Ash Waste and Water Contamination at Dan River
In August 2010 a study released by the Environmental Integrity Project, the Sierra Club and Earthjustice reported that North Carolina, along with 34 states, had significant groundwater contamination from coal ash that is not currently regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report, in an attempt to pressure the EPA to regulate coal ash, noted that most states do not monitor drinking water contamination levels near waste disposal sites. The report mentioned Duke's Dan River Steam Station as having groundwater contamination due to coal ash waste.

Study finds dangerous level of hexavalent chromium at Dan River coal waste site
A report released by EarthJustice and the Sierra Club in early February 2011 stated that there are many health threats associated with a toxic cancer-causing chemical found in coal ash waste called hexavalent chromium. The report specifically cited 29 sites in 17 states where the contamination was found. The information was gathered from existing EPA data on coal ash and included locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virgina and Wisconsin. In North Carolina, the Dan River Steam Station in Eden, the Asheville Plant in Asheville and the Cape Fear Steam Plant in Montcure all were reported as having high levels of chromium seeping into groundwater.

According to the report, hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) was reported at the Dan River unlined landfill and pond coal waste site above 61 ppb (parts per billion) - 3,050 times the proposed California drinking water goals and 22% above the North Carolina drinking water standard.

As a press release about the report read:


 * Hexavalent chromium first made headlines after Erin Brockovich sued Pacific Gas & Electric because of poisoned drinking water from hexavalent chromium. Now new information indicates that the chemical has readily leaked from coal ash sites across the U.S. This is likely the tip of the iceberg because most coal ash dump sites are not adequately monitored.

According to the report, the electric power industry is the leading source of chromium and chromium compounds released into the environment, representing 24 percent of releases by all industries in 2009.

Duke proposes rate increases to cover higher cost of coal
In March 2009, Duke Energy Carolinas proposed a 5 percent increase on its power charges in North Carolina, to compensate the company for higher coal prices. The fuel-charge increase is separate from an upcoming Duke proposal for a general rate hike. The company estimates that the average customer bill would increase from approximately $87 per month to about $91 per month. Similar increases will be proposed in South Carolina in summer 2009.

Duke proposes second rate increase to cover costs of expanding Cliffside plant
In September 2009, the North Carolina Utilities Commission held a public hearing on Duke's proposed rate increase of 12.6 percent for its North Carolina customers. Duke says the increases are necessary to recoup $4.8 billion in capital spending, which includes the amount spent to date on the Cliffside expansion. The utility commission's Public Staff, which represents utility customers, is opposed to the increase, describing it as unjustified. About two dozen people spoke at the hearing, most of whom were residents opposed to the rate hike and to the new Cliffside plant. The commission is scheduled to begin hearing expert testimony on Duke's rate hike request ion October 19.

Duke Ohio to switch from regulated utility rates to market rates by 2012
In November 2010, Duke Energy applied to convert its regulated utility rates to market rates in stages starting in 2012, with fully market-based rates by the middle of 2014. As part of that proposal, Duke planned to transfer all its Ohio power plants out of the utility into an unregulated affiliate. The move is designed to compete with Ohio's mix of regulated and unregulated power producers. Ohio does not require departing customers from regulated companies to pay any fee for transferring, as do many states, to compensate regulated utilities for power plants they built on the expectation of continued demand.

Environmental Record
In 1999 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency commenced an enforcement action against Duke Energy for failure to comply with the Clean Air Act. Duke asserted that EPA regulations under the law were arbitrarily changed over the course of 25 years. Environmental groups asserted that Duke was using loopholes in the law to increase emissions. Initially, Duke prevailed at the trial court level, but in 2006 the case was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court (Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corp. (05-848)). The Court unanimously ruled on April 2, 2007, against Duke Energy and in favor of the environmental groups.

Duke ordered to shut down three coal-fired units in Indiana
On May 29, 2009, U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney ordered Duke to shut down three units of the Wabash River Generating Station in Indiana for violations of the federal Clean Air Act. In 2008, a jury found that Duke-owned Cinergy had modified the facilities without installing best-available pollution control technology. In his ruling, Judge McKinney cited increased sulfur dioxide emissions from the units and gave a deadline of September 30, 2009 for closing them. Duke's Chief Legal Officer Marc Manly said the company was disappointed with the court's decision to "accelerate the shutdown." The units, which supply 39 percent of the station's power, were slated to be taken off line in 2012.

Duke Fined for Violating the Clean Air Act
On December 22, 2009, the EPA announced the agency had reached a settlement with Duke Energy for New Source Review (NSR) violations of the Clean Air Act at Duke’s Gallagher Generating Station. A jury had found Duke liable for NSR violations at the plant, and the settlement obviated the need for a remedy trial, which had been scheduled for early 2010.

The settlement requires Duke Energy to repower Units 1 and 3 at Gallagher with natural gas or shut them down, and to install scrubbers at Units 2 and 4, reducing sulfur dioxide emissions 86 percent when compared to 2008 emissions. Duke will also pay a $1.75 million penalty and spend $6.25 million on various environmental mitigation projects.

Killing trees for power lines
In August 2010, Duke Energy hired a contractor to spray herbicide to protect its power lines along the the Shopton Road intersection out of Charlotte on N.C. 49, leading to stunted, dead pine trees. Duke Energy spokesman Jason Walls said the company performs regular maintenance on all of its rights of way to ensure quality electrical service. Routine maintenance includes trimming back tree limbs and treating trees and vegetation with herbicides, he said. Walls said the methods used for controlling tree growth in the right of way depend on the area the company is working in and the denseness of vegetation. The company used herbicides on the N.C. 49 pines: "Those trees have been maintained as part of our vegetation maintenance - this is part of routine maintenance," he said.

Duke's nuclear empire
Duke Energy operates seven nuclear power stations. Three of these are at the Oconee Nuclear Station in Oconee County, South Carolina and two each at Catawba Nuclear Station in York County, South Carolina and McGuire Nuclear Station in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

The company is a member of the NuStart Consortium, which aims to obtain one of the new ‘streamlined’ combined Construction and Operating License (COL) for two selected reactor technologies.

Duke Energy is also a member of the Nuclear Energy Institute and the World Nuclear Association.

MOX Enthusiasts
In March 1999, a consortium of companies led by Duke Engineering & Services (a former business unit of Duke Energy), COGEMA and Stone & Webster (DCS) entered into a contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to fabricate mixed oxide (MOX) fuel using plutonium from surplus weapons and then to use that fuel in commercial nuclear power plants. The consortium will design, construct and operate a MOX fuel fabrication facility at the DOE Savannah River Site. Duke Energy will use the fuel at McGuire and Catawba nuclear stations beginning around 2011 or later.

Duke Engineering & Services was sold to Framatome ANP, in January 2002. However, Duke Energy continued with the plan to use MoX in its reactors. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted permission for the use of MOX fuel at Catawba Nuclear Station, after a two-year review process, in March 2005.

In September 2004, 140 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium oxide (powder) were shipped via Charleston, South Carolina, to France for fabrication into MOX, where it was met by a storm of protest. The plutonium arrived back, as MOX, at Charleston on April 12, 2005, after an 4000 mile round trip. The French state company Areva fabricated the plutonium into MOX. Greenpeace said the shipment flies in the face of global efforts to curb the nuclear threat. The testing was a prelude to the start up of a large-scale plutonium fuel program in the United States.

New Reactors
Duke Power has selected a site in Cherokee County, (South Carolina) – jointly owned with the Southern Company - for a potential new nuclear power plant. The Company will develop an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a combined construction and operating license (COL) for two Westinghouse AP1000 (advanced passive) reactors. The COL application submittal to the NRC is anticipated in the late 2007 or early 2008 time frame. Submitting the COL application does not commit either company to build new nuclear units. The companies will decide whether to proceed with plant construction at a later date. The US Public Interest Group, Public Citizen, said “Duke is angling to receive billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to defray the costs of applying for a license as well as operating the plants; it should not be given a government handout for the application … Nor should the government issue a license. Not only does nuclear power pose a threat to public health and safety, but Duke Energy has a track record that indicates it has been dishonest with consumers”.

In addition to selecting the Cherokee County location for a COL application, Duke Power is considering the preparation of early site permit (ESP) applications for locations in Oconee County, S.C., and Davie County, N.C. Early site permits enable companies to complete environmental and site suitability reviews, and obtain approval from the NRC for potential nuclear plant sites in advance of requesting a license to build and operate a plant.

Duke Energy remains committed to nuclear power, despite the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, CEO Jim Rogers told company shareholders and University of Richmond students in late April and early May, 2011.

Coal lobbying
Duke Energy lobbyists include the firm Dutko Worldwide. Other consultants and lobbying firms working for Duke Energy include Alpine Group, BG-4, Dow Lohnes, Hunton & Williams, Mary Kenkel, Lighthouse Consulting Group, LTD Group, Daryl Owen Associates, Valis & Keelen, and Van Ness Feldman, according to the Lobbyists.info online database.

Duke Energy spent $5,090,598 on in-house lobbying costs in 2008 and a further $1,282,770 to date in 2009. The registered lobbyists were Beverly K. Marshall, John Haysbert, Toby Short and Brian Vanderbloemen.

Duke Energy also spent $240,000 on Dutko Worldwide, LLC in 2008 and a further $50,000 to date in 2009. The registered lobbyists for the first two quarters of 2008 were Tracy Hammond, Andrew Wright and Liz Burdock. The registered lobbyists for the latter half of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 were Hammond and Wright.

Duke Energy also spent $134,000 on Alliance One in 2008. The registered lobbyist was Mary Kenkel.

Duke Energy also spent $240,000 on the Alpine Group in 2008 and a further $60,000 to date in 2009. The registered lobbyists were James Massie, Rhod Shaw and Jason Schendle.

Duke Energy also spent $25,000 on Walker Nolan in 2008 and a further $15,000 to date in 2009. The registered lobbyist was Walker Nolan.

Duke Energy also spent $110,000 on The Accord Group in 2008 and a further $30,000 to date in 2009. The registered lobbyist was Patrick Quinn.

Duke Energy also spent $118,000 on Bracewell & Giuliani in 2008 and a further $50,000 to date in 2009. The registered lobbyists were Scott H. Segal, E. Dee Martin, Edward Krenik, Jeffrey Holmstead and Joshua Zive.

Duke Energy also spent $90,000 on the LTD Group in 2008 and a further $30,000 to date in 2009. The registered lobbyist was Michael Haywood.

Duke Energy also spent $100,000 on Daryl Owen Associates in 2008. The registered lobbyist was Daryl Owen.


 * Total Lobbying expenditures for 2008: $6,147,598
 * Total Lobbying expenditures to date for 2009: $1,517,770

Duke Energy is a member of the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA), an umbrella lobbying group for all coal ash interests that includes major coal burners Southern Company and American Electric Power as well as dozens of other companies. The group argues that the so-called "beneficial-use industry" would be eliminated if a "hazardous" designation was given for coal ash waste.

ACAA set up a front group called Citizens for Recycling First, which argues that using toxic coal ash as fill in other products is safe, despite evidence to the contrary.

Line of credit for 2012 Democratic convention
In March 2011 Politico reported reported that Duke Energy had agreed to provide a $10 million line of credit to the Democratic Party's 2012 convention in Charlotte. Duke Energy is headquartered in Charlotte. "Duke Energy was actively involved in recruiting the Democratic National Convention to Charlotte," company spokesman Tom Williams told POLITICO. "As a part of the application process, the DNC required there be a letter of credit, a line of credit, ultimately available if the host city was selected. … And our corporation stepped up." The Center for Public Integrity reported that some environmentalists "see the move as an attempt by Duke to curry favor with the party controlling the White House. After all, there’s a long list of pending federal environmental rules that would have a direct impact on the utility industry — regulating against greenhouse gas emissions, for instance, and classifying coal ash as a hazardous waste."

Personnel

 * James E. Rogers, President and Chief Executive Officer

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Clean coal - quotable quotes
 * Climate Action Partnership
 * Global Climate Coalition
 * North Carolina and coal
 * Ohio and coal
 * Nuclear Boosters
 * Nuclear Energy Institute
 * Paul Anderson
 * Global warming

Contact details
Web: http://www.duke-energy.com/

Articles

 * John Blair, "Duke scandal is business as usual in Indiana" The Bloomington Alternative, Dec. 11, 2010.
 * David R. Baker And Zachary Coile, "Lobbying effort signals corporate climate change: Business leaders urge reduction of greenhouse gases," San Francisco Chronicle, January 23, 2007.